


Lab Partners

by fictionalportal



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/F, F/M, HSAU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-30
Updated: 2016-05-06
Packaged: 2018-06-05 08:44:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6697870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fictionalportal/pseuds/fictionalportal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Korra and Asami become partners in chemistry. Lab partners in high school chemistry, that is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Asami glanced at her schedule to double check her first period class. Chemistry.

She had put off taking it for her first three years of high school in favor of taking every physics class the school offered. However, she had spent the summer cooped up in her house studying each element in depth. Her tutor had required her to memorize them all.

Asami figured that long as she had a decent lab partner the class would be easy. She pushed up her glasses as she looked up from her schedule and made her way over to the science wing. She had ten minutes to spare, but figured she might as well arrive early.

The teacher had left a note on the blackboard that she was in the lab preparing a demonstration. Only one other person was in the room: a girl with blue-tipped hair pulled back in a ponytail. She was studying the syllabus intently. Asami thought for a moment. Did she really have anything to lose by sitting next to someone she didn’t know? She was already half expecting to carry most of the workload. Why not meet someone new and chance finding a decent lab partner?

Asami put her books down on the lab bench where the girl sat. She noticed the blue-haired girl had an industrial bar piercing through her right ear. Edgy. Asami twisted one of her sparkling sapphire earrings as she caught the other girl’s attention.

“I like your hair,” she said. “Do you mind if I sit?”

“Oh, go ahead,” the girl said. She ran her fingers over her ponytail, blushing slightly. “And thanks. I wanted to do something new for senior year. Why not, you know?”

“It works on you,” Asami said, smiling slightly at her. “And that?” She pointed at the eye-catching piercing.

“Just for fun.” Her fingers played with the obsidian jewelry. “My mom almost passed out when I showed her. My dad actually did pass out.”

Asami laughed. In the brief silence that followed, she thought for a moment. She decided to stick with the standard introductory questions, though ‘standard’ didn’t exactly describe this girl.

“Asami,” she said, reaching out her hand.

“Korra,” the other girl said with a slanted grin. Asami couldn’t help but laugh.

Korra scrunched her face into a scowl and crossed her arms over her ribs. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing--I--” Asami cut herself off when she caught the glint in Korra’s eyes.

“Gotcha!” Korra’s laugh was bold and clear.

Asami raised her eyebrows at Korra, but her gaze gravitated towards the tattoo cuffed around the girl’s toned bicep. Some people, Korra included, just shouldn’t be allowed to wear anything but sleeveless shirts.

Asami must have been staring: the smirk returned to Korra’s face. “Would you believe me if I told you I was a four-sport varsity athlete?”

Asami’s eyes widened.

“Gotcha again!” Korra laughed for a moment before continuing. “So, you taking any fun classes?”

“Not really,” Asami responded. “Just finishing up requirements. Next semester I want to take optics, but there’s always a waitlist for it.”

“You’ll get in,” Korra smiled. “You’re smart.”

“We just met,” Asami said.

“I can tell. Do you want to be lab partners?”

“Looks like you’ve already memorized the syllabus. I’d love to work with you,” Asami said.

“I’d love to, too.” Was Korra blushing again? “I mean also. Work with you.” Korra flashed another goofy grin.

Asami smiled back and took her glasses off. Other students had started to trickle into the classroom, but Asami was fixated on her new lab partner.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> content warning: mention of drunk driving

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not sure why the formatting on this chapter is all spaced out...if someone has advice on how to fix it, please let me know. thanks for reading! (and if there's anything you'd like to see in this story, i appreciate suggestions. no guarantees i'll be able to include everything, but i always like input.)

Korra was glad she had already read the syllabus--she didn’t hear a word the teacher said for the first ten minutes of class. She was busy brainstorming chemistry-related pickup lines. So far she had:

  
1\. Do you have the same atomic number as Neon? Because you’re a 10.  
2\. Are you a compound of Barium and Beryllium? Cuz you’re a BaBe.  
3\. Are you by any chance made of Nickel, Cerium, Arsenic, and Sulfur? Because you’ve got a NiCe AsS.  
4\. I’d do you periodically on a table.

  
She was thinking hard when--

  
“Korra?”

  
She looked up. The entire class was staring at her.

  
“Huh?” Korra said.

  
“Would you read section 3A of the syllabus out loud?” The teacher, Ms. Beifong, said.

  
Korra exhaled, thankful she had ended up in class with Suyin rather than either of the other two Beifongs. They were a little less forgiving and a little more prone to publicly humiliating students.

  
When the bell rang, Korra noticed that Asami had already packed her bag and was waiting by the door. Korra caught up with her new lab partner.

  
“What’s your next class?” Korra asked.

  
“History,” Asami replied.

  
“Ooh, who do you have?”

  
Asami squinted at her schedule. “It just says ‘Tenzin.’”

  
“I think he’s going for this cool uncle thing,” Korra explained. “He’s pretty boring during lectures.”

  
Asami deflated.

  
“Sometimes he does bo staff demonstrations in class, though,” Korra added.

  
“What?”

  
“He’s the faculty advisor for the Martial Arts Exploration club.”

  
“That sounds amazing.” Asami’s eyes glittered when she was excited about something, and Korra’s stomach flipped when she noticed.

  
“Anyway,” Korra said, clearing her throat and hoping she wasn’t blushing, “I’m glad we got Suyin for chemistry.”

  
“Yeah,” Asami said. “What’s your next class?”

  
“English.”

  
***

  
Korra entered her English classroom to a bear hug from Bolin.

  
“Hey, Bolin. How was your summer?”

  
“Oh man, it was great. Mako and I just got back from Ecuador, and seriously, you wouldn’t believe the size of the--”

  
“Hey, Korra.” Bolin’s brother Mako greeted Korra with a much gentler--and only slightly awkward--hug.

  
Korra and Mako had dated during Korra’s sophomore year, but when he left school they broke up. Mako and Bolin’s parents had been killed by a drunk driver at the beginning of what was supposed to be Mako’s senior year, and he had taken the year off of to work so that Bolin didn’t have to get a part-time job during his junior year. Mako was back at school now, and he would be graduating in the same class as his younger brother and Korra.

  
Someone who Korra didn’t recognize had joined their circle.

  
“Korra! This is Opal,” Bolin said, gesturing grandly to the girl at his side.

  
“I’ve heard so much about you!” Opal said, reaching out to shake Korra’s hand. By her short bob cut and straight, loose dress Korra guessed that Opal’s classes ended at three but she had to be at a speakeasy by four.

  
“She’s Beifong’s daughter. The nice Beifong,” Bolin said.

  
Korra laughed. “Yeah, I have your mom for chemistry.” Only after she spoke did she realize it sounded like a middle school joke. She was confident her friends were mature enough not to say anything obnoxious.

  
A squirrelly-looking sophomore pushed his way into the circle between Bolin and Mako.

  
“Haha, good one, Korra,” the intruder said. “Your mom! Classic.” He pretended to wipe a tear from his eye.

  
“Um,” Mako cut in, “everybody, this is Wu. He’s new on the cross country team.”

  
“Prince Wu,” he said, bowing elaborately to Korra.

  
Korra struggled to stifle her laughter. “Your name is...Prince?”

  
Wu scowled, his cheeks puffing out comically. “The Artist Formerly Known As Prince is Mother’s favorite singer!”

  
“For your sake, I’m glad she just went with ‘Prince,’” Mako said, slapping a hand to his forehead.

  
“Seats, everyone,” the teacher announced as she walked into the room. As the students sat, she continued in her rough voice. “You can call me Kya. You might know my brother Tenzin if you’ve slept through World History.”

  
The students laughed.

  
“Now, I may be new here, but I’ve been teaching a long time. No messing around during class; it’s not cool.”

  
Bolin raised his hand.

  
“Yes?” Kya called on him.

  
He hesitated, then shook his head as if he had forgotten his question.

  
After class, they filed out into the hallway. Korra grabbed Bolin by the arm.

  
“What were you going to ask her?”

  
Bolin twiddled his fingers as he replied. “Kya seems nice and all, but I’ve heard she send problem students to,” he glanced around and his voice turned to a whisper, “Lin Beifong.”

  
Korra’s brow furrowed. “Wow.”

  
“I know! I’m a class clown!”

  
“That’s serious.”

  
“Apparently it’s like a good cop bad cop thing. They’re partners in terrifying students. And, like, regular partners.”

  
Korra cocked her head. “What do you mean?”

  
“They’re married. I’ve gotta run to practice, but I’ll see you at lunch!” He sprinted down the hall.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At the first cross country practice of the year, Mako and Asami catch up. (strictly platonic Masami only)

The cross country season kicked off on the first day of school, and Asami had been looking forward to practice all day. She had been a varsity runner during her junior year, but with Mako taking the year off, she hadn’t had any close friends on the team. They used to run together on weekends sometimes if Asami wasn’t away at a meet.

From what Mako had told her at lunch, the team was going to be getting a slew of new runners, most of them Suyin Beifong’s children.

Practice started right after school, so Asami scrambled out of her sixth period Advanced English class. She changed into her running clothes as fast as she could, left her bag in her locker, and started jogging to the track.

By the time she got there, the other runners were starting stretches. She recognized the two tall, bulky guys leading the group: Wing and Wei Beifong. They had been in her Advanced English class. She remembered some of the other runners’ faces from previous years or from passing in the hallway.

“Asami!” Mako waved to her and opened a spot for her in the stretching circle. “How are your classes?”

“Great,” Asami said, pulling her arm across her chest. “My English class sounds so interesting. Did you know Tenzin’s sister is teaching here?”

“Yeah, we’ve all got her for second period.” Mako rolled his neck from one shoulder to the other. “She’s teaching Advanced?”

Asami nodded. “And chemistry is going to be great.”

“How so?”

“Hello, runners!” One of Wing and Wei said. Asami still wasn’t sure which was which.

They summoned the runners to circle around them. Each held a clipboard.

“We’re the new cross country coaches,” the other twin said. “I’m Wing Beifong.”

“I’m Wei. You might know our little brother, Bataar,” Wei said. He pointed finger guns at one of the scrawnier runners, who shrank back.

“Anyway, we’re superseniors.”

“And instead of taking a full course load, we’re coaching XC and track.”

“Hey, Advanced English,” Wing said, pointing to Asami with a familiar smile. “Want to start introductions?”

“Sure. Asami Sato.” She looked to Mako.

“Mako, Bolin’s brother. Took a year off, but it’s good to be back.”

Once they were through introductions, Wei mapped out what practices would be for the first week.

“We’re gonna start slow with a light, two-mile jog today, just warming back up. Each day we’ll add half a mile, and Friday we’ll do time trials.”

Wing added, “By the end of the week we’ll have you split into JV and varsity.”

“New team members, follow us!” Wei swept his arm over his head in a grand wave. He and Wing took off with a small herd of freshmen and a few upperclassmen.

Mako turned to Asami. “Regular route?”

“Sounds good.” Asami smiled. She had missed the talks they’d had during long runs.

“Helloooo, Mako!” A small-statured but big-eyed underclassmen burst into their conversation.

Mako rolled his eyes. “Asami, this is Wu.”

“Nice to meet you,” Asami replied cordially.

“The pleasure,” Wu said, taking her hand and kissing it, “is all mine.”

“Ugh, would you cut it out?” Mako said.

“What? Can’t I kiss a lady’s hand, Mako?”

Mako ignored the rhetorical question. “Listen, Wu, we’re going on a longer trail than the pack. You should stick with them for today.”

Wu pouted and whined. “Fine, leave me all alone with a group of strangers. I’ll be fine. Just fine, Mako. Fine...”

But Mako and Asami had started jogging away, and Wu’s complaints were fading. They did a lap around the track before following the border of the woods. Once they reached the stone statue that marked the edge of campus, they went down the path into the small forest.

When they had first run in the woods, Asami had been surprised by how bright it was under all the trees. Somehow sunlight found its way in through the canopy, and the path was well-trodden and easy to follow. Every spring, purple wildflowers sprung up randomly along the side of the path.

Both Asami and Mako had kept up running over the summer, and they kept up a medium jog.

“So, chemistry,” Mako said.

“Right,” Asami said. “I think I finally found a decent lab partner.”

“Really?”

“Her name is Korra, and--”

“Wait, you don’t know Korra?”

Asami’s brow furrowed. “No...we just met this morning.”

“That’s crazy. She’s one of me and Bolin’s best friends.”

Asami slowed for a moment, shook her head, and then caught up to Mako’s pace.

“She’s come to most of our parties. I’m surprised you never ran into her.”

“Seriously? You never thought to introduce me?”

Mako stammered, “I--I guess not.”

“We should all get lunch sometime,” Asami suggested.

“Fourth period?”

“I’ll ask Korra tomorrow.”

They finished their run in comfortable silence. Mako and Bolin had thrown half a dozen parties over the summer, and Asami had gone to all of them. After the accident, Mako had decided to sell their parents’ house. Bolin had agreed, and with some of that money they had bought a loft apartment. The first party had been a small get-together, just a housewarming dinner. Asami had knows everyone there--no Korra. She thought back to every party from the summer, but she couldn’t remember seeing Korra.

Once they got back to the track, they circled up with the rest of the team. Wing and Wei shared some encouraging parting words, and practice ended.

Asami heard a car horn from the parking lot next to the track and turned to see Bolin.

“Hey, guys! Opal and I were gonna go get some milkshakes if you want to come!” Bolin said, even more enthusiastic than usual. Opal leaned over him and waved to them out the driver’s side window.

“Sure, bro,” Mako said.

“Hey, are those the new coaches?” Bolin waggled his eyebrows at his brother. “They’re cute.”

“Those are my brothers,” Opal said pointedly.

“I mean, gross,” Bolin corrected himself. He held a hand up to his mouth and loudly whispered to Mako again. “I say go for it.”

“Bolin!” Opal slapped his shoulder lightly.

“Milkshakes!” He called.

Asami and Mako hopped into the backseat of his junk tank of a car.

Mako tapped his brother on the shoulder. “Yo, Bo. Asami never met Korra.”

“Whaaaat?!” Bolin turned halfway around in his seat.

“Road,” Mako reminded him.

“Right,” Bolin said, gluing his eyes to the view from his windshield. “Really? Like never?”

“I think I would have remembered,” Asami said.

“Yeah, wow, that is totally our bad,” Bolin said. “You guys could have been awesome friends for the past three years.”

Asami laughed. He sounded sorrier than someone who might have broken a cookie jar in while stealing from it. “It’s not your fault, Bolin. Dean Bryke just never put us in any classes together until now, I guess.”

“Oh, you guys are in my mom’s chemistry class first period!” Opal said. “She’s got something really cool planned for tomorrow.”

“Today in physics, Toph lay down on a bed of nails to illustrate Newton’s Second Law,” Mako said.

“Toph is definitely the coolest Beifong,” Bolin agreed. He hurriedly added, “Out of the teacher ones, I mean.”

Opal laughed.

Asami leaned over to whisper to Mako. “How do they know each other?”

“Ecuador. They met the first week of the program,” Mako explained, “and they spent the other seven with their faces smashed together.”

Asami stifled a laugh.

“Her brothers are pretty cute, though.”

“Oh. Yeah,” she replied half-heartedly.

Mako squinted at her. “You don’t think so?”

“No, they are. I’m just not really interested right now.”

“Cool,” Mako said, nodding.

Bolin turned the radio on and started yelling along to the music so loudly that Asami wasn’t sure what song was actually playing.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korra gets excited about chemistry after a cool demonstration. She might also have picked up a tutor.

Korra had never expected that she would be excited for school, but she had practically jumped out of her bed. Her classes were great so far, and she had decided to ask Kya if they could meet after English class. She didn’t have any real homework to do yet, so missing third period study hall was no big deal. She and Bolin both had fourth period lunch, and they ate with the water polo team.

Her fifth period class was History of Martial Arts with Tenzin. Asami had said that he could be boring, but Korra thought he was a pretty engaging lecturer, at least during that class. She guessed that he was more interested in martial arts than other areas of history.

She was most proud that she had managed to stay awake through sixth period statistics. It helped that her stats teacher, Iroh, probably had a second career as a part-time underwear model. It was easy to pay attention to him.

As Korra sat in first period chemistry, she realized that this was only class she was really nervous about. Suyin had just handed out a practice sheet on scientific notation, a concept that had repeatedly eluded Korra’s comprehension.

Korra nudged Asami’s elbow. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Asami smiled back, a brilliant addition to Korra’s sunny morning.

Korra scratched her head with her pencil. “Can you help me? I’m not really good at this stuff.”

“Sure,” Asami replied.

Suyin walked over to their lab bench. “Please work separately. This isn’t a quiz, just an evaluation for me to see what you know.”

“Sorry,” Korra said. “I asked her.” She didn’t want Asami to get in any sort of trouble.

“Don’t stress about it, Korra,” Suyin said, smiling gently. “You two could meet outside of class. I don’t mind students working on homework together. Science is all about collaboration.”

Korra puzzled her way through the evaluation and turned it in. When there were ten minutes left in class, Suyin started collecting the rest of the evaluations.

“You’re dismissed, but feel free to stay for a demonstration. You’ll need to wear goggles for this one,” she said, a sparkle in her eye.

Korra got up to leave, thinking she might catch Kya before class.

“You’re not staying?” Asami asked.

“Of...course I’m staying,” Korra said, her mind changed. “Just packing up my stuff.”

Asami, Korra, and a handful of their classmates walked up to the teacher’s lab bench at the front of the classroom. There was a test tube suspended in a holder.

“Wing?” Suyin called.

Someone came out of the supply closet at the back of the room. He looked too old to be a high school student, and he also looked like he could be--

“This is my son, Wing. He’s the TA for this section. Goggles on,” Suyin said. She added a cloudy white liquid to the test tube and lit a Bunsen burner beneath it. “This is potassium chlorate.”

“And this is a gummy bear,” Wing added, holding the piece of candy out for the students to see. He dropped the bear into the test tube and flames burst up.

Korra’s eyes widened and she felt a grin break across her face. Chemistry was going to be cool.


End file.
